The present invention relates to the field of gaming machines, and more specifically to gaming machines capable of producing sounds.
Sound is an important way to communicate information to a player in a casino. Sound can be used to attract a player to a game and to communicate information about how to play it. For a player at the gaming machine, sounds can be used to prompt the player to perform certain tasks, to celebrate winning events, and to announce winning events to nearby players.
One drawback to using sound is sound volume regulation. The ambient noise level in a casino varies greatly throughout the day. At peak times, a casino is quite loud. At off-peak times, however, a casino is relatively quiet.
The dynamic range of the ambient noise level creates a problem for game designers wishing to fully utilize sounds to communicate with players. If a gaming machine's volume is set high enough to be heard in the casino during peak times, it will be unpleasantly loud during non-peak times. The off-peak “hyper-volume” problem is sufficiently disturbing that casino personnel reduce the volume on sound-generating gaming machines. As a result, game designers minimize the use of sounds to avoid losing sound altogether.
Adjusting audio volume level is known in combination with cellular telephones, and for home and automobile stereo systems. In typical scenarios, the ambient noise level varies due to extrinsic noises. There are a myriad of ambient noise sources that such systems must be designed to overcome. These are typically transient, such as passing vehicles, household appliances, and the like.
By contrast, the ambient noise level in a casino or other gaming establishment is relatively constant in the short term. Further, the volume of sounds produced by conventional casino gaming machines cannot be altered by a player. Manual downward volume adjustment by casino personnel during non-peak casino periods is time-consuming, and subsequent adjustment is then required as the casino business again increases.
The invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the drawings, in which: